Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 484

Chapter 484

Chapter 484

Marcus’ POV

Two days had passed since the meeting where we all tried to find a solution to the nightmare our lives had become. Two days of heavy silence, of hushed conversations, of looks weighed down with worry. The Kensington mansion in Highridge Valley had turned into a war headquarters.

Christian came to find me on the morning of the third day, his face set with a determination I recognized as a decision already made.

“I need to talk to you and Madeline. Alone,” he said simply.

We found Madeline in the library, absently flipping through a book she clearly wasn’t reading. She looked up when we entered, and the tension on her face told me this conversation would matter.

Christian skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point, the way he always did when he had difficult decisions to deliver.

“I can’t decide what you’re going to do with Sullivan Parks,” he began, holding eye contact with both of us. “That decision belongs to you, and I fully respect that.”

He paused deliberately before continuing.

“But Kensington will not be involved if you choose to go forward with the opening now. This is not the moment to launch a celebration line. Not the moment to celebrate anything while people are dying and that tragedy is being tied to our name.”

I understood his position completely. More than that, I agreed with it. Celebrating anything while families were mourning loved ones poisoned by something linked to the Kensington name would be insensitive, maybe even cruel. Even knowing we weren’t at fault, we were still carrying the weight of that grief.

“Of course, Christian,” I said. “I fully support that decision.”

But Madeline stood up from the armchair where she’d been sitting, frustration and pain etched across

her face.

“So that’s it?” she asked, her voice trembling with barely contained emotion. “We retreat? We let Dominic

win?”

Christian kept his expression calm, but I could see the empathy in his eyes.

“This isn’t about letting Dominic win, Madeline,” he said gently but firmly. “It’s about respecting the victims. About not adding insult to injury by celebrating while families are suffering because of something that carries our name. In the right moment, we’ll rise again. But this isn’t it.”

Madeline let out a heavy breath, dragging a hand over her face in a gesture of exhaustion that broke my

heart.

“I understand that,” she said quietly. “But I also understand that Dominic may never give us the right

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moment. He’ll keep forcing situations where we always have to retreat, always have to defend ourselves, never move forward,”

I watched emotion overtake her, tears filling her eyes before finally spilling over. She wiped at them quickly, but she couldn’t hide the vulnerability taking hold of her.

“I dragged Kensington into this,” she said, her voice breaking. “Dominic would never be attacking you if it weren’t for me. All of this is my fault.”

Christian stepped closer, his posture losing some of its rigid professionalism.

“That doesn’t matter right now,” he said firmly, but with kindness. “What matters is knowing when to strike-and knowing when to retreat. And this is the moment to retreat.”

He looked directly at me, and I recognized that expression instantly. We’d grown up together, worked side by side long enough to develop our own language-looks that said more than words ever could. And that particular look, the tension in his jaw, the weight in his eyes, was the one Christian used when he was about to announce something big.

“It’s not just about Celebration,” he said slowly, letting every word land. “We’re pulling absolutely all Kensington products off the market. Temporarily. Worldwide.”

The shock of that statement hit me like a punch to the gut. Pulling all products? It was unprecedented- something Kensington had never done in its entire, generations-long history. It felt like admitting defeat, even if only temporarily.

We exchanged looks, each of us trying to process the magnitude of that decision. After a few heavy seconds of silence, Christian left the room, leaving me alone with Madeline.

The moment the door closed, she fell apart. Not physically, but emotionally-the tears she’d been holding. back finally spilling freely. I went to her immediately, wrapping her in my arms as she cried against my chest.

“I wish I were stronger,” she sobbed. “I wish I could fight Dominic head-on, not let Kensington and innocent people pay for what he’s doing. But I can’t.”

She pulled back slightly, looking at me with red, desperate eyes.

“Especially now that I truly understand Dominic isn’t just a bad person. He’s a cold, calculating killer. He murdered my father, Marcus. He poisoned innocent people without hesitation. And I don’t know what he’s capable of when it comes to this child I’m carrying.”

Her hand moved instinctively to her belly, protective in a way that had become second nature.

“And now… now, because of me, for the first time in generations, Kensington is being forced into such a drastic measure. How many employees are going to lose their jobs because of this? How many families who depend on the company will suffer? Distributors, transporters, salespeople… an entire chain of innocent people affected because I brought Dominic into your lives.”

I cupped her face in my hands, making her look me in the eyes.

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“Stop. You need to stop carrying this guilt. Dominic made these choices, not you. He chose to be a

monster-not you.”

But she shook her head, tears still falling.

“That doesn’t change the fact that-”

“Madeline, listen to me,” I interrupted gently. “When we were kids, I always beat Christian at chess. Every time. He’d get furious, demand rematch after rematch.”

She looked confused by the sudden change of subject, but I kept going.

“And then, one summer, he stopped losing. He started playing completely differently. He’d sacrifice his queen, his rooks-pieces anyone would think were essential. I’d get confident, celebrating every capture, thinking he’d finally given up for real. But while I was distracted by the big pieces, Christian was positioning his pawns. Quietly. Methodically. Advancing them one by one. By the time I realized what was happening, it was already too late-and I was in checkmate. He became unbeatable once he learned that.”

I turned back to Madeline, a small, deliberate smile on my lips.

“Christian may have said he doesn’t know where to start-but trust me, he knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s taking away Dominic’s main target entirely. Letting him get distracted, thinking he’s captured the queen, while the pawns are being positioned in silence. The game isn’t lost, Madeline. It’s just entering a new phase.”

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